I am not a worrywart. I do not worry in the traditional sense of agonizing over the potential outcomes.
My life philosophy makes me sound smug or uncaring. I do not worry. If things do not turn out the expected way, I have merely learned (again) what not to do.
On the non-traditional side, I do something which can be considered worry. It is being disappointed or anxious about inevitable outcomes when I have not the power to change the forces in motion. We have touched on some of them:
- Deplorable attitude toward education
- Lack of integrious parenting
- Fear stemming from no understanding of disorders
- Absence of historical reference in the everyday life
- Meaninglessness of relationships in the face of digital life
These are some of the things which plague Mantra’s strike times. I recognize I have done as much as I am able to change these things in the lives of those nearest me.
I have intervened, and continue to intervene, in the lives of my children. An inordinate amount of time is spent trying to break the blinders off those in my immediate sphere. The word counters fill up with my attempts to get books into the hands of readers which will make a difference in their lives. I am faithful to the M3 Readers.
So, how does this translate to worry?”
I worry about whether I am going about it in the correct fashion. I wonder if it would not be better to recruit rather than merely elucidate. Occasionally, I wonder why I bother. For every person who finds some light in what I say, there are four pairs of eyes staring blankly back, who walk away back to the quagmire to trudge in the same circle for another (day, year, lifetime).
My embattled inner optimist tells me the ones I reach will help make the next generation more than vacuous click-monkeys. The pragmatic devil on my shoulder tells me the enlightened will be an endangered species before I am cold on the research slab.
Are you a worrywart? What do you worry about? Can you shrug off worry? Are you up to taking the challenge?
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Valentine Logar
/ May 25, 2013Like you I don’t worry in the traditional sense. There are things in life over which I have no real ability to change the outcome. Oddly, these are the things many people (including those closest to me) believe I should have the most control. So rather than worry I simply plan for the worst and carry on.
There are other things, I don’t so much worry about rather I think about sometimes these things bother me. Sometimes these things cause me to want to intervene and other times they simple cause me to want to buy an island and escape.
Worry is a waste of energy.
Valentine Logar recently posted..What is Wrong with You
Red of M3
/ May 29, 2013I think I have come to the place in my life where I recognize how few people truly want change for the better or otherwise. Once bitten, twice shy applies to most of them because my predecessors were neither altruistic or competent, and their changes are reflective. I think we really do need an island of sanity as a safe haven for learning. xxx
Phil
/ May 25, 2013I try my best not to worry about things, especially those things I can’t change.
However, being human, I am constantly frustrated when plans and objectives are not being achieved quickly enough and other external pressures try to swap me.
I find it helps to be around people who have a positive outlook and have a bit of faith.
The problem is, I know very few, most relatives, friend and associates are very pessimistic.
Being around them for too long can bring your mood down and your worries up…so I try to be sociable in small doses.
Phil recently posted..The importance of sharing.
Red of M3
/ May 29, 2013I completely understand the cloistering against pessimism. I, too, live where pessimism is a way of life. I shed the pressure of others. I put enough pressure on me to more than meet the goals others would set for me. Being forthright about my time and resources, I am perfectly capable of saying, This is beyond my current scope or capacity.
Gail Thornton
/ May 25, 2013I admit to being a worrier. I worry if my behavior or what I have said hurt the people I love. The others I have no time to worry about this. I have found myself worrying less by being direct and clear in what I mean. Life is uncertain, yet I yearn to control what I am able to which affects my own life, so the uncertainty is what I can live with. I worry about the happiness of my grown children. I have no control over it, but I do have the control to let them know daily I love them.
Gail Thornton recently posted..Fork
Red of M3
/ May 29, 2013The quick resolution to the first worry is to ask. 😉 Telling them you love them is so simple, and it counts for so much. I love being able to talk to my mother everyday. xxx
Wendy Reid
/ May 25, 2013I am a huge worry wart but am trying to change that by reminding myself that worry doesn’t solve anything, it just causes me to be stressed and that is the last thing that I need. I often think that the worse thing is going to happen and it so rarely does. I keep trying to remind myself of that.
Wendy Reid recently posted..Confessions of a Sex Freak
Binky
/ May 25, 2013Wow, that sounds exactly like me. Sometimes it’s difficult to change your stripes.
Binky recently posted..Life Before The Internet
Red of M3
/ May 29, 2013Which part?
Red of M3
/ May 29, 2013If you are preparing for the worst, instead of just worrying about it, you can dissipate some of the worry. After a few dry runs, you will learn to conserve the energy. xxx
Susan
/ May 25, 2013I am a serial worrier. Since early childhood, worrying has played a major role in my life. My biggest fear was that something bad would happen to my pets or my horse, or that I would end up in Hell. I can remember writing letters to G-d, begging him not to send me there. Weird, huh? Now that I am an adult (chronologically) my worries have shifted, but they continue to follow me everywhere.
Susan recently posted..Flash in the Pan: Busboy
Red of M3
/ May 29, 2013Worry comes from within, so it would follow you. Nothing so weird about writing letters. Writing would be your centering. It stands to reason it would help quell your fears. xxx
LScott
/ May 25, 2013Well, I have to admit to being a worrier just like Mom was…although, I do try to shrug off that which I have no control over and give it to God to handle. That’s what I try to do and sometimes, I succeed and other times, I don’t.
It sounds like you have a strong handle on those around you, Red, and I love your phrase “click-monkeys.”
Well, even though your enlightened group may be endangered, at least they’ll be on the bright side of life and your hard work will have paid off.
Many hugs!
LScott recently posted..Join me for Coffee? 🙂
Red of M3
/ May 29, 2013I would certainly hope so. 😉 xxx
John McDevitt
/ May 25, 2013If you help one person see the light then you’ve succeeded. Don’t worry (oops) about the ones who walk (or run) away.
I don’t worry, especially about outcomes where I have zero control (everything outside of my own self). Worrying tricks your imagination into running wild and inventing the worst possible outcomes. What happens seldom lives up to the horrible images that worriers conjure.
Imagine what life could be like if we all substituted positive imagery for the negative imagery of worry.
Maxwell Maltz (Psycho-Cybernetics) reminded me that we live in the present moment. If your attention is on the present moment then you cannot possibly worry about future outcomes.
“Every morning when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand new hours to live.” Thich Nkat Hanh “Peace is Every Step”
John McDevitt recently posted..Monochrome Maple
Red of M3
/ May 29, 2013I love the Thich quote. I do believe the present is a present. I do not like to waste gifts. So very good to see you, John.
Prenin
/ May 26, 2013I have paranoid schizophrenia, so it’s part of the job description! 🙂
I follow a simple rule: Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things! 🙂
I have been in a panic for weeks over my benefits, but now they have been provided I can relax, although there is much left to be done!
NEVER trust those in power! 🙁
Love and hugs!
Prenin.
Prenin recently posted..Saturday – Anti Muslim sentiments rise.
Red of M3
/ May 29, 2013Glad it worked out for you, Ian.
C. Brown
/ May 26, 2013I worry less than I used to. I worried most about “what if’s” . I can’t say I never worry. But now I am better able to stop a worry onslaught by acknowledging I have no control over some things. And worrying about these things is pointless. Just be as prepared as possible.
C. Brown recently posted..The Song In A Young Girl’s Heart
Red of M3
/ May 29, 2013Preparation always helps. xxx
RLB
/ May 26, 2013“For every person who finds some light in what I say, there are four pairs of eyes staring blankly back, who walk away back to the quagmire to trudge in the same circle for another (day, year, lifetime).”
Such is the life of a teacher. Worth it, when those whose eyes lit up stop me on the street and tell me I made a positive difference in their lives.
I don’t worry much about anything, other than people who disappear without a trace from my online life. It’s a thrill, however, when they resurface, unharmed (mostly).
Red of M3
/ May 29, 2013I do worry about my online friends.